


Love to hate you

by CrownsAndMilkshakes



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Investigative Duo, Unresolved Sexual Tension, and there was one bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23130811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrownsAndMilkshakes/pseuds/CrownsAndMilkshakes
Summary: Betty and Jughead have been bitter rivals since childhood, always competing for the same things and always sharing the same titles. They became class president together, they were both lead editors on the school paper and they were co-valecdictorian.Now they work for the same journalism website and are forced to work together on uncovering a big drug scandal. They have to go to Riverdale and investigate the Blossom empire while pretending to be a couple that is madly in love.Can they pull it off?
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 31
Kudos: 148
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A little story to keep me busy through the hiatus. I always wanted to write a story with Betty and Jughead as rivals that are evenly matched and then a few months ago this idea popped up. I decided to postpone it to work on some other things, but decided this could be a fun little story to write during the free time I now have because of Corona virus. Always look on the positive side. This is going to be 4 or 5 chapters and you can expect quick updates.
> 
> Side note, I should hire someone to write my summaries and titles.
> 
> This story is unbetad. Sorry in advance for all the mistakes

Betty slams her shot on the table.

“Jughead Jones,” she growls. “Do you remember that asshole.”

Veronica chuckles as she watches her best friend chuck a beer. Betty Cooper didn’t often get drunk, most of the time she was the only sober person after going out, but when she did, she didn’t half-ass it.

Betty had called Veronica 2 hours earlier and said she wanted to go drinking. It was rare that Betty initiated a night out, so Veronica knew it was serious. She brought along her new friend Toni Topaz who is now looking at Betty concerned.

“Yes, I remember that asshole,” she says while trying to wrestle the beer glass out of Betty’s hand. “How can I forget when you mention him all the time.”

“Who is Jughead Jones?” Toni asks.

Betty just groans and lays her head on the table as if that is an answer.

Toni looks at Veronica confused, who just shrugs and smiles affectionately at her best friend.

She is tempted to take a picture and send it to Alice Cooper. The woman would age 10 years if she could see her perfect daughter like this.

“Jughead,” she says to Toni. “Is an old friend of ours. We all met in kindergarten and attended the same schools ever since. He is also Betty’s eternal rival”

Betty groans her agreement, but doesn’t care to lift her head back up. Veronica pats her hair before continuing.

“In middle school they were on the school newspaper together and they both wanted to be editor. They tried to outdo each other with bigger and better stories, and they uncovered a lot of shady things about the school and our hometown in the process, but eventually they became co-editors. The same went for grades, they were the top students of their year and were co-valedictorians.”

Veronica smiles at the memory. Even during their speech they tried to shove each other of the podium.

“They wanted to outdo each other so badly, but they were evenly matched. God, they hated each other.”

Toni nodded. “So they were rivals, but that was back in high school which was six years ago. Why is she mentioning him now?”

Veronica smiles. “Because, my dear Antoinette, fate is a cruel mistress. They went to the same college, both majoring in journalism and they now work for the same website.”

“Wow,” is all Toni says before she starts laughing. “That is some bad luck.”

Veronica has to restrain herself from laughing, it is quite funny.

“My stupid boss,” Betty speaks out loudly. She slowly lifts her head like it hurts to do it.

“He says we have to work together on our next article.” 

She turns to Veronica with a pout on her face. “Why V, why do I always have to work together with him.”

Veronica sweeps some hairs that have escaped her ponytail out of her face.

“I don’t know sweetie, but let’s get you home. You have to work tomorrow.”

Yes, Betty Cooper decided to get smashed in the middle of the work week.

To her surprise, Betty doesn’t fight her decision. Instead she stands up with a surprising amount of grace, smoothes out her work skirt and starts walking towards the bar. 

“I’m paying for our drinks,” she says over her shoulder.

Veronica huffs a laugh and pulls out her phone to dial an uber.

“Wow,” Toni breathes out. “I did not expect her to get like this.”

“It’s an annual event, so be honored you got to witness it.”

“That guy must be really irritating if Betty has such a reaction to him.”

Betty is known to get along with everyone. She is a people pleaser and goes out of her way to make sure everyone likes her, so it can be surprising that the resident good girl dislikes someone so much.

“He can be quite irritating,” Veronica pauses and looks back at Betty who is eagerly paying the barman. “But there is something else going on between them.”

Toni scoots her chair closer and leans towards Veronica. “How much sexual tension?”

Veronica rolls her eyes. “It’s unbearable. You can choke in it when you’re in the same room as them.”

Toni laughs but immediately shuts up when Betty reappears at their table.  
“I paid the barman,” she says proudly and judging from the giddy look on the guy’s face she tipped generously.

“You sure did, B,” Veronica says while putting an arm around her best friend. “Now let’s get you home.”

Veronica falls back into the carseat of the uber with a big sigh. She just wrestled her best friend into her apartment. She loves Betty with all her heart, but she is a troublesome drunk. It is for the better that it happens only once a year.

“So,” Toni says after Veronica tells the driver where to go next. “Did they ever hook up?”

Veronica purses her lips together and thinks about the fact that Betty will kill her for what she is about to say next. “Well, there was the incident back in college.”

Toni’s eyes widen. “Tell me everything now.”

“I don’t know all the details, but back in college Betty and Jughead spent a night together. They were working late on a project together and one thing led to the other. But Betty made me swear to never ask about it.”

Toni makes a face. “Maybe it was really bad sex.”

“Maybe,” Veronica says, but honestly she doubts it. Her best friend is not admitting something to herself and it will come to bite her in the ass one of these days.

\---

Betty’s head hurts when the sound of walking on sunshine wakes her from her slumber. She groans and pats around to find her phone which is where the offending noise is coming from. The idea to make your alarm an upbeat song sounds like fun until you have to listen to it with a massive hangover.

She finally finds the phone and silences it. She supposes she should be glad that drunk her remembered to set it last night.

Her head feels like it weighs ten pounds when she tries to pull herself out of bed. She falls back on her pillow and groans again. It was a stupid idea to go drinking in the middle of the work week, she honestly wonders how she is going to survive a whole day of work.

She picks up her phone again and checks her messages. Her eyes take a minute to adjust to the harsh light in her dark room. She has two messages, one from her mother asking her when she is planning to visit home. She ignores that for now, she can’t think about Alice Cooper or home with a headache.

The other is from Veronica asking how she is feeling, attached is a picture of Betty from yesterday looking like a complete mess. She cringes. She should find a best friends who saves her from her stupid ideas, not encourage them. She quickly sends Veronica some emoji’s, because she can’t form words yet, that hopefully convey the fact that she is in pain and annoyed but will be okay.

She closes her eyes and allows herself a few more precious moments in bed, but eventually decides that the sooner she has some aspirin and coffee in her system, the better.

Thirty minutes later, she is examining her appearance in the bathroom mirror. The miracles that make up can perform, there is no way to tell from the outside that she feels like shit. Except for the expression on her face, normally Betty is all kind smiles, but today is going to be a frowny day. She gives herself an encouraging nod, maybe it won’t be so bad.

She takes that statement back the moment she arrives at the office. Her journey to work had already been far from stellar. The train was so crowded that three different people stepped on her toes and there were two babies only a few feet away from her. Now Betty loves babies and she appreciated the cute view, until one of them started crying which made the second one follow. The sound those two emmanated was not compatible with the headache that Betty still has.

So she is not in the best mood when she enters the office, but she tries not to let that get to her. She greets her coworkers politely and even has a tiny smile for Kevin who gives her a cup of coffee, that is until she sees his expression. This is not friendly coffee, this is bad news coffee.

“What?” she asks.

Kevin looks apologetic. “The boss wants to see you. It’s about the drug article, there are some new developments.”

Betty sighs. “Thanks for the coffee, Kev. I’m gonna need it.” Kevin salutes her and Betty speeds to her boss’ office.

The website that Betty works for is all about investigative journalism. It has grown in popularity over the past few months when it was featured on the news for helping uncover a big serial killer. So her boss is pressuring everyone for bigger and better articles. Betty is following the case of several hard drugs with very strange names that have popped up over the last few months. The drugs are mostly garnered to teens and young adults as they are presented as candy and they are highly addictive. She was able to trace it back to a small town called Riverdale.

When she told her boss, he was impressed and even started talking about a bonus if this could be solved. Which sounded like music to her eyes, as everyone knows apartments in New York aren’t cheap. But the music came to a complete stop when he immediately after told her that he wanted her to work together with someone.

And that someone is waiting when she enters the office. 

“Did you sleep well?” Jughead asks her with a smirk, almost as if he knows about her drunken rants from last night or maybe it is a remark about how she is later than usual. She quickly glares at him, before turning to the man behind the desk.

“I’m sorry I’m late Mr. Weatherbee.”

Her boss waves a hand to dismiss her apology. “That’s okay Miss Cooper. Mr. Jones and I have only been here for five minutes. Now if you could please close that door.”

He clears his throat and folds his hands on the table after Betty makes sure the door is indeed closed. “We have had some breakthroughs in the jingle jangle case. Miss Cooper brought us a lot closer when she found out about Riverdale.” He awards her with a nod and Betty feels pride bloom in her chest. She may be a bit of a teacher’s pet and she likes getting praised.

“And then Mr. Jones found the person who is likely behind the distribution.” 

That crushes her moment of joy. The jerk not only wormed his way into her article, but now he was looking to overshadow her too. She doesn’t spare him a look, she knows he has that smug smile on his face.

“But we can’t do anything from here,” Mr. Weatherbee continues. “So the two of you will go to Riverdale together and try to get close to one Cheryl Blossom.” He places a picture on his desk of a gorgeous woman with red hair and matching red lipstick, Betty is fascinated by how she pulls off that look, so fascinated that the rest of what Mr. Weatherbee is saying takes a while to register. 

“Wait,” she says. “You want me and Jughea… I mean Mr. Jones to go to Riverdale together.” Betty can barely spend a minute in the same room with the man.

Mr. Weatherbee nods. “Yes, you two will try to get close to this Cheryl Blossom and find information about her business.”

“You think she is the one behind all the drugs.” Betty examines the picture again. The woman screams wealth and sophistication, but she also looks young, about Betty’s age. She can’t imagine that she was behind this major drug epidemic.

But Mr. weatherbee nods again.

“What will our undercover story be, sir?” Jughead asks.

“You two will go as a couple taking a trip. Riverdale apparently has some tourism appeal because of the maple trees there,” the rest of what is being said does not reach Betty’s brain. Her and Jughead having to pretend to be a couple. The world is truly a cruel place.

“You will be leaving this friday. Your hotel room is already booked. I have send the rest of the information to your emails. Okay, you can go.”

Betty is still in shock when she walks out of the office, maybe this is all a drunk dream. She pinches her arm and feels a brief sting. No, she is definitely awake, but it is still a nightmare. 

She sees Jughead walking towards the kitchen and she quickly follows.

“Why aren’t you more upset about this?”

Jughead’s cup stops halfway to his mouth and he raises an eyebrow. “Upset about what?”

“About this assignment. About us having to work together, pretending to be a couple.” She frantically waves her hand between them.

Jughead tilts his head sideways and lets his eyes travel over her before landing on her face. “What is there to be upset about?” He smirks when he sees the exasperated look on her face. “I don’t hate you, Cooper.”

Betty snorts and walks to the counter to refill her cup with coffee, her back turned to Jughead. Of course he hates her. Her entire life he has always tried to outdo her, he pushed her buttons and wanted to humiliate her by showing he was better.

“Well, I do hate you.” It sounds harsh, but Betty is a strong believer in letting her feelings known. “I can’t even stand being anywhere near you.”

Suddenly she feels Jughead close behind her, his mouth by her ear. “That’s not what you said that night in college.” His voice is low and memories of clothes scattered across the floor and that same voice whispering sweet nothings to her, makes her ears burn. Her stupid body always betraying her.

She whips around to see Jughead already walking back to his desk, chuckling to himself. 

“Asshole,” she mutters.

“I don’t know how I am going to survive this, V,” she complains the next night. She has Veronica on facetime to approve the items she is going to take to Riverdale. Her boss recommended packing fancy clothing as Cheryl is very rich and no one has more expensive taste than Veronica Lodge.

“It’ll be fine. Just don’t let him get to you too much,” Veronica answers.

Betty scoffs. “That’s easier said than done. I have to pretend I actually like him. I don’t want to be his fake girlfriend.” The end of the sentence comes out as a whine and she iactually has to stop herself from stamping her feet. She might have a tendency to be childish when Jughead is involved.

“Think about the payoff. How awesome would it be when you solve this and get to write the article. You said you could get a bonus, maybe even a promotion. This is a work trip, so try to stay professional.” Betty sighs, she was making great points.

“I’ll try.”

Veronica smiles. “Good girl, just take it step by step. Now let me see the dress.”

Betty holds up the most expensive dress she owns. It’s black, short and tight, so it is bound to get Veronica’s approval. 

“That is gorgeous,” she exclaims. “Are you sure you aren’t trying to seduce Jughead, because he will drool if he sees you in that.”

Betty immediately lowers the dress and makes a face. “Ew, don’t even joke about that. If he even thinks about touching me, I will cut of his hand.”

Veronica whistles. “Damn girl, is it weird that I like seeing this savage side of you?”

Betty rolls her eyes and folds up the dress to put it in the bag she is bringing on the trip. “If there is anyone I’m trying to seduce, it’s Cheryl Blossom.”

“Cheryl Blossom,” Veronica yells. “That is who you’re investigating?”

Betty nods and Veronica quickly starts typing away at something. “You know her?”

“Girl, I’m surprised you don’t know her. She is the heiress to the Blossom empire and also a banging model. She has one of the most popular instagram accounts.” She holds up her phone to show a picture of Cheryl scantily dressed and looking seductively in the camera. “Do you think you can introduce me to her?”

Betty laughs. “I’m sorry to kill your lady boner, but I’m looking into her, because she might be part in a big drug scandal.” Veronica shrugs as if that isn’t a dealbreaker.

“Okay, I think I have everything.” She inspects her bag to make sure she has enough clothes to be able to spend a week away, as well as all her writing equipment and cameras. “I probably should get to bed. Jughead is coming to pick me up tomorrow morning and I don’t want to deal with him when I’m on less than eight hours of sleep. Scratch that, I just don’t want to deal with him.”

Veronica rolls her eyes. “Just keep your cool, B. Try not to murder him. I already spent enough time visiting my parents in prison, I don’t want to add you to the list.”

“I will try my best, but no promises.”

“Good enough for me. Good night. I love you and text me updates throughout the week. Bye!” Veronica blows her some kisses and then the screen goes black.

Betty places her bag and other necessities by the door, before getting ready for bed.

“Just relax,” she says to herself when she finally lays down. “Enjoy your last few hours of freedom, before you are shackled to Jughead Jones for a week.”

The next morning, she is standing outside of her apartment, feeling exhausted, waiting for Jughead to arrive. So she couldn’t really relax. Everytime she closed her eyes, she saw his stupid smug face or flashes of their night together during college, which just added to her irritation. At 3 am she decided to just get out of bed and watch some dumb sitcom to try and get her in a better mood, but even friends wasn’t able to cheer her up.

Betty sighs. Veronica is right, she does let him get to her too much and that is exactly what he wants. She is going to Riverdale for work and if they do a good job they can actually make a difference. Plus it will look great for her career. She has to focus on that.

She hears the honk of a car and turns around to see Jughead smiling at her. She takes a deep breath and grabs her bag. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Are you ready for our adventure,” Jughead says when she climbs in the passenger seat.

“Ecstatic,” she replies sarcastically. Jughead seems to deem the answer good enough and starts the car.

The car ride to Riverdale is about four hours and the first one is spend in complete silence, apart from the occasional sigh or cough. Betty refuses to look to her left and just keeps her eyes on the road.

Jughead is the one to eventually break the silence. “Is this how it is going to be the whole trip?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Jughead heaves a heavy sigh. “I know you like to hate me, but come on, Cooper. Let’s not be childish.”

That makes Betty’s blood boil and she whips her head around to look at him. “I’m childish. That is rich coming from you. Especially after you hijacked my article.” Her voice is icy calm, but on the inside she is a storm.

“I didn’t mean to take it away from you. Two brains are more than one, right. This is an important case and together we could catch whoever is distributing the drugs quicker.” When she doesn’t reply, he shakes his head. “I don’t actually hate you, Cooper and I don’t mind working with you.”

Betty clicks her tongue. Sure, he doesn’t. He just enjoys annoying her, pushing her buttons. He always goes out of his way to compete with her and steal her thunder and now he says he likes working with her. She has no time for his mind games.

“Well, we should at least get to know each other. We do have to sell the fact that we are a couple.”

“We have known each other our entire lives.”

“Oh yeah, what is my favourite movie, my favourite colour, my favourite book?”

Betty is silent for a long time, just staring at the road before answering. “Baxter brothers,” she says quietly.

“What,” Jughead asks, not having heard her answer.

Betty looks back at him. “Your favourite book was one of the Baxter brothers books, it changed every week. Your favourite movie was rebel without a cause and your favourite color was green.”

Jughead glances at her quickly and in his eyes she sees the remnants of their childhood together. They used to be friends, best friends even. They were called the three musketeers. She and Jughead and Archie Andrews, they would spend all their time together. But eventually they drifted apart and Veronica moved to Riverdale, making her the third member of the musketeers instead of Jughead.

“And your favourite book was one of the Nancy Drew books, it also changed every week,” he says with a smile. “We used to read next to each other in the treehouse while Archie was flailing around the garden.”

Betty laughs despite herself. That seems so long ago now, it almost feels like something she dreamed once.

“Betts,” Jughead says softly. Her childhood nickname causes some weird emotions to bubble up in her. “Why are you so angry with me all the time?”

It is a vulnerable question for the both of them, one that Betty doesn’t feel like answering. She looks out the car window and stares at the houses passing by, hoping that he will let it go.

“Betty,” he pushes on anyway.

“Because,” she says heavily. “You were so set on competing with me, you still are. You always try to beat me and humiliate me. You didn’t care about the spelling bee, but you participated anyway, because you know I was.” She feels herself getting angry again, that sweet moment of nostalgia between them dissipating with every word. And it feels good to talk about it, it feels good to be angry. She always keeps everything bottled up, was told by her parents she should, but she doesn’t keep it bottled up around Jughead. She just let’s go.

“You didn’t care about the school paper at first, you just wanted to try and steal my job. I worked so hard to become lead editor, because it was the only way for my mom to be satisfied and you took that away.” There it is. The stupid, simple truth.

She takes a deep breath and continues, her voice now softer. “My parents didn’t care about me being a good student, they wanted me to be the best student. It didn’t matter that I got an A on the paper, because you would get an A+ and they wouldn’t be satisfied with that.” She tells herself to revealing all this vulnerable information, but it feels good to let it out.

“So it all harkens back to mommy issues,” he says. It sounds like a joke and a little condescending, but when she looks at him she sees that his jaw is clenched and his eyes are hard. He is irritated.

Betty shrugs. “I guess,” she makes her voice neutral. “Well, what is your excuse? I know you have your own fair share of daddy issues. Is that your reason too or what?”

Jughead breaths out through his nose, they are both poking each other where it hurts. “It is even more childish than that,” he says.

Betty waits for a while to see if he will offer up more information, but he stays quiet.

“Seriously, that is all you’re going to say. After I told you all of that?”

Jughead keeps looking at the road, not really acknowledging the fact that she said something. Betty clenches her jaws and tears her eyes away from his face. He is such a jerk, not even giving up some sort of explanation and now he has the upper hand again. She showed a little bit of herself and he took it without anything in return.

This was a great start to their trip.

The rest of the ride is spent in silence again, the small moment of reconciliation smashed in the face of given and hidden truths about their past. Eventually Betty falls asleep, which is a better way to spend the trip than counting trees. When Jughead shakes her awake, she slaps his hand away and curses him.

“We’re here,” he just says and when Betty finally opens her eyes she sees they are no longer on the highway. Now big houses with white picket fences are the view.

“Welcome,” Jughead says. “To the town with pep.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another friday, another chapter. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on this story, it always fills me with such a joy to read that people are enjoying my stories. I have about five chapters planned for this one, two of which will hopefully come out next week. My main objective with this fic is to just have fun, which is something we all need in these times.
> 
> I hope everyone is healthy. Please continue to take care of yourselves and the people around you. Try to stay happy and positive in whatever way you can. Hopefully this story and all the others created by this awesome fandom can contribute some positivity to your life.
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Betty and Jughead check in at the four seasons hotel and go up to their room to dump their bags. The first thing Betty notices when she enters is that the room is beautiful and really vintage. It is a vibe she likes and in line with the rest of the town from what she has seen in the short car ride to the hotel. The second thing she notices is a problem, a big problem.

“Crap,” she says.

“What?” Jughead is standing right behind her, too close for her liking. 

She takes a step forward and turns towards him. “What is that?” She points to the king sized bed in the room.

Jughead looks at her quizzically. “A bed?” he asks rather than says.

“One bed,” Betty corrects. “There is only one bed.”

“Well, we are supposed to be a couple. It would have been weird to book a room with two.”

Betty shakes her head, at Jughead for being so calm and collected about everything, at her boss who organised all this and at the universe who let this happen.

“This is a nightmare,” she mumbles to herself. She quickly scans the room for other sleeping options, but the only other things there are a desk and two chairs. 

“Betty.” Jughead snaps his fingers in front of her face to get her attention. “You can worry about the bed later. For now, let’s go outside and explore Riverdale, before you spiral.”

Betty glares at him, even though he is right. She is seconds away from spiralling. “Okay, I’m just going to freshen up and then we can go.”

The bathroom is almost as big as the bedroom with a shower and a huge bathtub. Big enough for two people. She quickly tears her eyes away from the object, before her mind starts getting the wrong idea, it has been getting the wrong idea a lot lately. She turns to the mirror and examines herself. She looks fine enough, a little tired at best. She applies some mascara for good measure and then slaps her own cheeks.

“You can do this,” she says as a little pep talk to herself.

When she enters the room Jughead is sitting in one of the chairs and is looking at the view. He looks completely relaxed, like none of this is weird or stressful for him. 

She takes this moment to really examine him for the first time in years. She hates to admit this to herself, but he looks good. When he was a teenager, he was a little scrawny with limbs that were too long for his body, even in college he looked a little goofy, but now he has grown into those limbs. His long legs are spread in front of him now in a way only guys can sit. He is wearing his normal combo of jeans, flannel and S t-shirt and on top of his head is his beanie that he has had since he was a toddler. People at school used to say it was glued to his head. Betty knows that isn’t true, because she herself has removed the beanie from his head and tossed it across the room once. She can affirm that he has a head full of soft, luscious hair. One of those hairs was now falling into his eyes, which makes her want to move forward and brush it away. Which is a weird thing to do, so she just stands there looking at him.

“What are you staring at, Cooper,” Jughead says. Betty’s face immediately heats up. Of course he would notice her creepy observations.

‘Nothing, just lost in thought for a moment,” she stammers. Jughead raises an eyebrow which suggests he doesn’t believe her for a second.

She crosses the room and sits in the chair opposite him. “What is our plan for today?” she asks, eager to change topics.

“I thought we should go out and explore Riverdale. Establish our cover as a couple and also see if we can find anything suspicious. Maybe we can talk to some people and try to see what they know about the Blossoms.”

Betty nods. “Okay, should we establish some rules first?”

“Rules about what?” 

“The whole fake dating situation. I want to set some rules about what we can and can’t do, so that we won’t feel uncomfortable.”

Jughead nods in understanding and waves with his hand for her to continue. 

“No kissing on the mouth,” she says.

“But yes kissing in other places.” The corner of Jughead’s mouth lifts up in a smirk.

Betty rolls her eyes. “If the situation requires it you can kiss me on the cheek. No touching inappropriate places, let’s just say we can only touch each other’s arms and shoulders.”

Jughead looks at her for a moment like he is lost in thought, but his eyes become clear again quickly. “Okay, sounds good to me,” he says. He stands up and offers her his hand. “Shall we, my lady?”

Betty stares at the hand. It’s a peace offering and the beginning of something she isn’t sure she is going to like. But she takes it, she agreed to come here with him and she is going to do a good job. Jughead laces their fingers together and looks at her for confirmation.

“Is this okay?” he asks rather tenderly.

Betty nods. She won’t admit this to him, but she is a sucker for holding hands, especially when a guy laces their fingers together. Her ex never did that, he hated the feeling of sweaty hands. But Betty loved it, the simple act of holding hands gave her a sense of peace and safety. She tries to ignore those feelings now, as well as the fact how nice Jughead’s hand feels in hers.

They leave the hotel and walk around Riverdale. They walk past a high school and the town’s shopping centre, which has about thirty stores. They walk past a drive-in that has seemingly been abandoned, Jughead suggests breaking into the projection booth to see if they have any old film reels lying around, but Betty drags him away before he can actually do anything. 

They talk with some of the people they come across, everyone immediately notices that they are tourists and they are more than eager to tell them about the town. A little too eager. After about two and a half hours of walking around they now know the entire, twisted history of how Riverdale came to be. And they are starving. Thankfully, their last stop was a retro looking diner.

“Betty, pinch me,” Jughead says when they enter Pop’s diner.

“What?”

“I think I might be dreaming. This place is amazing.” He looks like a kid in a candy shop, which isn’t too far from the truth.

But Betty understands his fascination, though. The diner, like most of Riverdale, seems to be from a few decades back. It could easily be a set in a 50’s movie. And judging from the crowd that is gathered, they probably serve good food too. 

Betty is eagerly looking around when her eyes fall on a certain redhead. “Jug,” she whispers. “Don’t be too obvious, but Cheryl Blossom is sitting right behind you.”

Jughead’s eyes widen. “Seriously?” He quickly glances over his shoulder. “That’s her alright. Okay, what is our game plan?”

“Just follow my lead.” She takes a deep breath. “Oh my god,” she exclaims loud enough so everyone in the establishment can hear her. She storms towards their suspect. “Are you Cheryl Blossom?” she asks, her voice full of awe.

Cheryl looks up slowly, somehow unfazed by her enthusiastic performance. “I am,” she says.

Betty smiles widely. “I knew it. I am such a big fan!” She turns towards Jughead who has followed her and is now looking at her with amusement. “I told you it was her, honey. He wouldn’t believe me,” she says to Cheryl. “He was like, ‘why would the famous Cheryl Blossom be in such a small town.”

The corner of Cheryl’s mouth twitches and Betty knows she is pleased by her exclamations. This is a woman who likes to be worshipped. Well, Betty is going to give her just that.

She gasps. “Oh, where are my manners. I’m Betty Cooper.” She holds out her hand. “And this behind me is my boyfriend, Jughead Jones.” She wonders if she should have used fake names, but that is too late now and would have been confusing.

Cheryl shakes her hand and smiles at her, although there is no warmth behind that smile. “Pleased to meet you,” she drawls. Her eyes travel down her body and then Jughead’s before she motions towards the booth opposite her. “Would you like to join me?”

“Can we? That would be wonderful.” She grabs Jughead’s arm, who looks a little dazed by the whole act, and pulls him into the booth. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here with the one and only Cheryl Blossom. I just have to say, I loved your cover on cosmopolitan.”

“Thank you,” Cheryl looks pleased and Betty thanks Veronica quietly, not only for showing her Cheryl’s instagram, but also for showing her how to act like a fangirl.

Cheryl leans her chin on her hand and looks at the couple. “So, I’m assuming you are new here?”

This time Jughead steps in before Betty can say something. “It’s our anniversary and we wanted to take a trip to celebrate it.” He slings his arm over her shoulder and looks at her with such an adoring look that Betty herself almost believes it. This guy should have joined the theatre.

Cheryl furrows her perfectly sculpted brows. “What made you choose a small town like Riverdale?”

“We are from the city and we wanted to get away for a little bit. Besides we heard about all the maple trees and maple syrup tourism and we wanted to check it out.” 

Betty doesn’t think Cheryl believes them, who wants to go to a town for maple trees, but the girl nods. “My family owns those trees and the maple syrup business here in Riverdale. We have a tree tapping ceremony in two days.” She focuses her gaze on Betty. “Would you like to join us. There is a big party that accompanies it, it’s one of the biggest events of the year.”

“We would love to come.” Betty doesn’t need to fake anything about her reaction. A party at one of the Blossom estates is a perfect sleuthing opportunity. “Thank you so much!”

Cheryl smiles at her. “Wonderful. I am guessing you are staying at the four seasons. I will send your invitations there under the name Cooper. All the details are on there.” She stands up and dusts herself off. “I have to go now, but you can order anything you like, it’ll go on my tab. Bye.” She starts walking but stops to give Jughead one scrutinizing look. “I hope you have better clothes than that, you will not be allowed in if you are wearing hobo chic.” Then she is gone.

Jughead blows out a breath. “What a lovely person.”

Betty gives him a smile of triumph. ‘It doesn’t matter if she is lovely or not. We just got a huge opening.”

Jughead doesn’t look convinced. “It went a little too easy, don’t you think. Who just offers invitations to random people.”

“Someone who likes to be admired,” she shoots back. “Come on, this is a victory for us. This whole mission might be over before we know it.” She bumps her shoulder with his. She is giddy with accomplishment.

Jughead watches her face for a long time, before he smiles back at her. “Okay, you’re right. Good job, Cooper.” For a moment they just sit there looking at each other and smiling, which is weird, so Betty breaks the eye contact and scans the rest of the diner. 

She realizes that Jughead still has his arm around her and is about to say something when he speaks first. “Let’s feast now. I am not somebody to let the offer of free food go to waste.” He waves at a waitress and gives his enormous order while Betty just sits there, tucked into his side, feeling weirdly content.

It is dark when they finally get back to the hotel, Jughead had eaten so much food that he has been complaining about a stomach ache and how his body isn’t what it used to be. Betty had enjoyed herself at the diner. The atmosphere was fun and they both were in a good mood, because of their earlier win.

But the victorious feeling falls away when she enters the room and it gets replaced by dread. The sleeping situation. The gigantic and only bed that was just standing there in the middle of the room, mocking her.

Jughead, not noticing her shift in moods, drops down on said bed, clutching his stomach.

“You should have warned me, Cooper. You should have told me I was eating too much,” he groans.

“The Jughead I used to know was able to handle his food.”

“Well, that Jughead has grown old.” He adjusts the pillows and lays on his back. “This bed is super comfy, though. Get in here, Betty.” He shoots her a playful smile, but Betty isn’t having it.

She shifts on her feet, feeling uncomfortable. “Maybe I should sleep on the floor,” she says.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We are both adults, we can share a bed without it being weird.”

Betty raises her eyebrow, obviously this whole situation is weird. And he is correct, they are both adults and that is only making her insecurities worse. “You know what happened the last time we shared a bed.” She had made a promise to herself to never talk about it and yet here she was, bringing up the past on her own free will.

“Basically nothing happened,” Jughead remarks.

And yet, way too much, Betty thinks to herself.

Jughead sits up with a lot of groaning. Betty is pretty sure that he is being extra obnoxious about it, which honestly is helping her situation. She is now less scared she will jump him, strangling seems like a more plausible option if he continues.

“I will keep my hands to myself, as will you. We can even build a pillow wall if that makes you feel better.” Jughead places one of the thousand pillows on the bed in the middle to demonstrate. “But you aren’t sleeping on the floor.”

“Fine,” she sighs. Of course part of her is glad, she really didn’t want to sleep on the ground. She knows her back would not have forgiven her for that. But sleeping next to Jughead could be dangerous. She walked to her bag and grabbed her pajamas. “I’m going to take a shower,” she announces before claiming the bathroom.

During her shower, Betty tells herself to calm down. Her emotions are everywhere and she blames it on the suddenness of the whole situation. She has been going from anger to confusion to happiness and back so many times today that she honestly feels exhausted. 

She looks at her right hand that still feels warm and tingly and that isn’t because she set the water extra hot. Jughead had held her hand almost the entire day, even when there weren’t any people around and it had felt nice. Betty didn’t understand herself. Whenever she thought of the guy, she felt a pang of irritation, but whenever her body was near his, she felt drawn and all she wanted to do was get closer.

She turns off the shower and the cold air hits her sensitive skin, causing her entire body to be covered in goosebumps. The fact that Jughead is on the other side of the door doesn’t help and she feels herself blush. She quickly grabs a towel and gets ready for the night.

When she enters the room again, now in her pajamas and with her hair still wet, she sees that Jughead has also changed. He is sitting on the bed and typing away on his laptop. He looks up when he hears to door and watches her for a few seconds too long. 

“Are you all done,” he asks.

Betty nods and Jughead jumps off the bed. “Then I’m going to brush my teeth.”

After he closes the door, Betty just stands there for a moment, shifting from one feet to the other, staring at the bed like it has a magical barrier around that prevents her from touching it.

“Screw it,” she says before sliding under the covers. She turns a couple times and is hit with Jughead’s scent that has already been imprinted on the covers and pillows. She likes it and curses herself for liking it.

“Getting comfy?” Jughead asks, apparently a champion is speed brushing.

“It’s a comfortable bed,” Betty mumbles. She hears the light tapping of feet and soon Jughead occupies the other side of the bed.

“Hi,” he says softly. “Were you going to sleep already?”

“What else am I supposed to do in bed?”

Jughead opens his mouth to answer, but seems to decide against it at the last moment. Instead he says, “Well, I have Columbo downloaded onto my laptop.”

Betty furrows her brow. “Who downloads anymore? Have you heard of Netflix?”

“Netflix doesn’t have Columbo.”

Betty purses her lips, she loves Columbo and Jughead knows this. She used to watch those episodes back to back, sometimes while she was simultaneously reading an Agatha Christie novel. Looking back on it she seemed to have had a bit of a one track mind. But Jughead understands, he was the same way after all.

“Okay, I can watch an episode or two,” she says.

Jughead looks genuinely surprised. “Really?”

“Really.”

The grin that comes over his face is so different from his usual arrogant smirk, it shocks Betty for a moment. She remembers an eight year old Jughead running towards her with that same joyful smile, excited to tell her about a new story he had thought of or about the pie his mom just made. He had been a happy child. 

But that was before. Before everything went wrong in their lives, or at least, that was what they thought at the time. Teenagers were dramatic and always thought their lives were awful. But in Jughead’s case, he might have been right. He turned somber and broody. Never smiling, always alone.

And now she has the grown up Jughead next to her, setting his laptop in between the two of them on the bed. This Jughead is confident. Not overly joyful, but also not sad or somber. He is a cool middle. For a moment she is amazed by how people change. And how during all their changes, they had always been in each others lives, in one way or another.

“Do you wanna start at the beginning?” Jughead asks, making her pay attention to the present.

“Sure.”

He selects the episode and hits play. They both lean back against their respective pillows, both under the same covers but a respectable distance away. Here they are watching Columbo in their hotel room after their first day of investigating a drug scandal in a weird small town.

And Betty is more confused than ever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but I haven't forgotten about this story. Thank you to everyone who commented on the last two chapters.
> 
> This fic was also nominated for the bughead fanfiction awards, which is amazing. I am so honoured that people read my work and actually enjoy it.

Betty finds herself once again in the bathroom. She is standing in front of the mirror examining her hair, her heavy eye makeup, and the way her little black dress clings to her curves. She looks good.

It is the day of Cheryl’s party, which means it is the day to get hard evidence she is involved in this drug ring. After the success of their first day, she and Jughead had spent yesterday once again wandering through Riverdale. They had heard the town was full of gangs, so they had wanted to see if they could find something like a hideout. They didn’t have any such luck, even though Riverdale definitely has its shady side, namely the south side, their search had come up empty. After their day of walking they had retreated to their hotel room, where they had done some writing for this article and then once again spent the night watching Columbo before falling asleep in the same bed.

Betty blushes, just thinking about it. Nothing had happened, there had been no accidental spooning or hand holding, it was nothing like a romantic comedy. But still, she was spending her nights in the same bed as Jughead Jones and she didn’t hate it. Last night she might have stared at his face for a while after he had fallen asleep. She wonders what changed. Maybe it is the fact that he wasn’t being a total douchebag or maybe it is the way he remembers her favourite childhood shows. It’s probably just all the hand holding going to her head and her heart. Whatever it is, she is beginning to like Jughead and that scares her. She has spent half her life hating him and now in just two days her feelings were changing.  
Don’t get her wrong, she doesn’t like like him and she doesn’t want to jump his bones - she thinks - but she also doesn’t hate spending time with him. 

So now she is hiding in the bathroom, pretending to check her appearance, while Jughead is changing in the bedroom. But she can’t hide forever and she can’t avoid Jughead. The most obvious reason being that this party is their big opportunity, but also she needs to ask him for a somewhat embarrassing favour. The blank dress she packed is absolutely gorgeous and it shows off her legs, which Betty considers her best feature, but it has one flaw. She can’t zip herself up, so she has to ask Jughead to do that. Which means he will get to see a lot of her, because the zipper goes deep, including the back of her lacy, black bra. It is the only dress she packed and she is sure Cheryl won’t appreciate her showing up in pants, so she just has to ask him. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.

She cracks the door open a tiny bit. “Are you decent?” she asks.

“Yup.” Is his easy reply.

She opens the door fully, but isn’t ready for the view that greets her. She knows Jughead is handsome, she stared at him for a full 5 minutes last night, but while the beanie and the plaid fit him well; Jughead in a suit is on a whole new level. Betty can always appreciate a man who cleans up nicely and that is the definition of Jughead right now. He is wearing a black suit with stripes and a white button up shirt that has one more button undone than is probably appropriate, but she isn’t complaining. 

They don’t say anything for a full minute and Betty realizes that Jughead is looking at her with just as much appreciation as she is looking at him. That makes her both feel confident and embarrassed, a combination of feelings only Jughead could evoke.

She clears her throat. “Can you maybe zip me up?”

He tears his eyes away from her legs and focuses on her face. He quickly blinks the dazed look out of his eyes. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Betty smiles. She does enjoy making Jughead lost for words. “I can’t reach the zipper at the back of my dress. Can you help?”

She swears his eyes turn darker before he gives her an easy grin. “Of course, can’t let you walk around half undressed.”

She turns around and soon hears his footsteps coming closer. But she isn’t prepared when she feels his hand on the small of her back and she startles. 

He chuckles. “Relax, Betts,” he whispers. With his other hand he grabs the zipper and draws it upwards, a lot slower than necessary. She feels his knuckle tickle her skin and she resists the urge to shiver. When he passes past the clasp of her bra, she remembers a different time his hand was there, undoing her bra with a swift motion.

Eventually the zipper reaches her neck. Jughead smooths his hands out over her shoulders and turns her around. “All done,” he says.

She gives him a small smile and wipes her sweaty hands over the dress. She is too easily affected.

“How do I look?” she asks, just to break the silence.

Jughead gives her a soft smile, a smile she hasn’t seen since childhood. It makes him look younger and gentle. Instead of answering, he takes a step closer and reaches out with his hand, swiping his thumb under her eye.

“Eyelash,” he explains. His hand stays there for a few seconds and then moves to one of her curls. Betty wants to both pull him closer and push him away. Since when did Jughead become so enticing?

“You look perfect,” he finally answers and it’s as if he has thrown a bucket of ice water over her. So quickly does the exciting buzz of him go away and is replaced by the voice of her mother. His own eyes widen as he realizes his mistake. He retracts his hand and opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, she takes two steps away from him.

“We should go if we don’t want to be late,” she says coldly. 

The moment gone.

There are plenty of rich people in this world. Veronica is pretty damn rich as is Polly ever since she got married. The CEO of her company has enough money to feed fifty families and Archie has had at least three houses ever since his music career took off. So Betty thought she was used to people who flaunted their money. She doesn’t get overwhelmed by fancy cars and big houses.

But still her mouth actually falls open when she sees Cheryl Blossom’s mansion. It is a building too big for such a small town. It is also creepy as hell. Betty quickly pinches herself to make sure she isn’t having one of her weirdly vivid serial killer dreams.

“Are you ready?” Jughead holds out his arm for her to take.

Her eyes flick to his face. His expression closed off and distant. For the first time since they went on this trip, he looks like the old Jughead she hates again. Betty finds that she doesn’t like it, but she ignores that. They have a job to do. She threads her arm through his and takes a deep breath.

“Let’s pretend we like each other.”

If Betty thought the outside was impressive, the inside of the mansion knocks her off her feet. They are led through a long hallway, which is lined by old portraits of people with striking red hair and towards one of their three ballrooms. The man that is guiding them is telling them some of the Blossom family history, but Betty doesn’t listen. Instead her eyes are taking notice of every possible escape route, where their mission to go wrong. 

When they enter the ballroom, they are immediately greeted by Cheryl, who pulls Betty in to give her an air kiss. Her eyes trail over her body and she gets a satisfied nod. “Not bad,” Cheryl says, which is probably a high compliment in her book.

Betty takes a moment to take Cheryl in. She’s a lot. She is wearing a deep red gala dress with a high slit and plenty of cleavage. If Betty thought she was being risky, she has nothing to worry about now. Even though the dress is very dramatic, she looks positively gorgeous. She starts to understand Veronica’s crush on the red head now.

Cheryl quickly glances at Jughead, but he is not worthy of a comment, because she immediately returns her attention to Betty. “Have fun at the party,” she drawls before taking a step closer and whispering into Betty’s ear. “When you are done with the hobo. I can show you a good time.” And she’s gone. Betty is sure her ears are burning red.

“Did she just proposition you?” Jughead asks.

“I think so,” Betty answers, still a little in shock.

Jughead looks over his shoulder to where Cheryl disappeared. “I would say go for it. Red hair seems to be your type.”

That’s a low blow and Betty hopes her glare really communicates her fury. So she had a crush on Archie once upon a time. She was young and stupid, and he was kind of cute, so she decided to go for it. They dated for two whole weeks, before breaking up. It wasn’t great. Since then Betty has had her fun with men and women, none of them red haired. But Jughead still teases her for her crush on Archie. 

Except when she looks at his face, his expression is cold. Not the smirk he normally wears when he is trying to get under her skin. He looks serious as if she would really ditch him to run off with an alleged drugs queen.

She decides to be the bigger person and gently squeezes his arm. “Come on, there is the buffet.” She points to an enormous table filled with foods, almost all of them rare and expensive. “Let’s eat and enjoy this party a little bit before we run off and do our thing.”

Jughead purses his mouth into a thin line. “I don’t know how much enjoyment will happen.” His eyes frantically flicking over the crowd, observing the people around them.

That’s when Betty realizes it. He’s nervous. That’s why he is extra cranky. Jughead never did well in large crowds. They overwhelmed him. As kids they would always sneak out of birthdays together, because Jughead couldn’t handle that many people. Now, as Betty turns towards the room, she sees that there are probably 300 people in attendance. It would be overwhelming for anyone.

She doesn’t really know why she does it. Maybe to distract him, but she reaches up and gently kisses his cheek. His eyes immediately snap to her and she’s sure she sees red dusting his cheeks. 

“Come on, baby,” she says extra loudly, so the people around them can hear it. “Let’s eat. You know how you get when you are hungry.” She moves her hand from his arm to his own hand and threads their fingers together, before walking towards her buffet. Her heart pounding against her chest.

The next twenty minutes crawl by as they try to casually survey the room. Jughead’s arm is tightly wrapped around her waist and they munch away on foods they couldn’t pronounce the names of if they tried. Sometimes people walk up to them to make small talk. Betty leads these situations with their fake engagement story and how generous Cheryl is to invite them.

Jughead’s fingers start to dig into her side when yet another stranger approaches them. She quickly covers his hand with hers and squeezes to let him know that it’s okay. The guy is tall and broad, he could easily have been one of Archie’s jock friends. He walks over to them with a confident swagger and an air of self importance. 

“Hello there,” he says, his eyes focused on Betty. “I have never seen you around. I’m Reggie Mantle, Riverdale’s best guide to pretty girls.” He gives her a flirty smile and Betty is actually taken aback that he would come onto her while she has the arm of another man around her. She doesn’t know whether she is disgusted or impressed at his balls. Maybe both.

He reaches out his hand, but before Betty can take it, Jughead shakes it. “Jughead,” he says. His voice is cold and his eyes are shooting daggers at the guy.

Reggie looks at him as if this is the first time he notices him. To his credit, his smile doesn’t waver. “Nice to meet you, man,” he says cheerfully and Jughead is taken aback by his friendly attitude.

“Are you a close friend of Cheryl’s, Reggie?” Betty asks. 

“Oh yeah, known her since we were babies,” Reggie answers. “We never hooked up though. She swings for the other team.”

Betty’s eyes widen on their own. That obviously isn’t new information, but this guy really has a one track mind. “So you have been to Thornhill a lot?”

Reggie nods. “Know it like the back of my hand.” Then he tilts his head in a questioning way and Betty is reminded of a puppy. “Why do you want to know?”

She gives him a smile and bats her lashes a few times. If the guy wants to flirt, she can work with that. “I was just wondering if there were any quiet spaces here?”

Reggie’s eyes widen before a knowing smile comes over his face. “Oh, there are many. If you go down the hall, you will find many rooms where no one ever comes. But be sneaky, because guests aren’t allowed.”

“Thanks, Reg,” Betty says while slowly pulling Jughead away from him. “Appreciate it. You will keep our secret, right?”

“Of course, I understand the art of hooking up. If you guys need another party, let me know.”

Jughead looks at her in bewilderment. “Is he offering a threesome? People are very open in this town, aren’t they?”

Betty giggles. “I guess you have to make do in a small town.”

“Was it really smart to ask that guy?” Jughead asks, concern lining his face.

Betty waves a hand to dismiss his worries. “Please that guy has one thing on his mind. He won’t find my question the least bit suspicious.”

They quickly and quietly extract themselves from the party. They manage to slip back into the hallway without anyone noticing. Luckily all the guests have arrived by now, so the place is pretty quiet.

“What kind of room are we looking for?” Jughead asks. 

“Her office. That’s where the information will be.”

Jughead snorts. “Thankfully there are only fifty rooms attached to this hallway.”

He is right. The hallway is even longer than Betty realized, with a room every six feet. It will take way too long to check every every door and search every room. They will be here for hours. They do not have that time. The gears turn in Betty’s head as she lets her eyes scan the space in front of her. She starts walking, there must be a name on the door or something.

“This is never going to work.” She hears Jughead mutter behind her.

“Use your brain, Jones. You’re supposed to be smart right?” she shoots over her shoulder. “Do you think a person like Cheryl would have her office in just any room? There will be some sort of indicator. A name or a symbol or…” Jughead’s hands suddenly grab her waist, halting her quick pace. Her back comes in contact with his chest and it knocks the breath out of her lungs. “What the hell, Jughead?”

“Or a painting,” he says, ignoring her cursing. His thumb gestures to a huge portrait of Cheryl next to a room. “This might be it then.”

Betty nods. “Good catch.” She looks over her shoulder to find Jughead’s face very close to hers. He is smiling, not his smug and self important smile, just a boyish smile. His eyes are twinkling with excitement as they find hers and Betty’s heart actually flips. He looks so much like his younger self at that moment. She quickly takes a step away before she does something stupid.

Jughead walks up to the door and tries to open it, only to find it doesn’t butch. “It’s locked,’ he announces.

“Of course, it’s locked,” Betty says while fumbling around in her hair, searching for her favourite accessory. “Stand back,” she orders.

“The infamous bobby pin,” Jughead muses while he leans against the wall to watch her. It has been a while since she had to open a lock, but she finds that it’s the same as riding a bike: you never forget the skill. Jughead whistles as the door flies open. “You’re a badass, Cooper.” His voice full of respect and amazement. 

Betty blushes and quickly walks into the new space. “Whatever,” she murmurs, embarrassed.  
They get to work and sweep through the room. Betty checks for hidden compartments or secret nooks. She recognizes the adrenaline rushing through her. This is what Jughead and her used to do when they were teenagers. Sleuthing, investigating, catching bad guys. She loved it and she still does. The thrill of being alive, of doing something bad for a good cause. This is why she went into investigative journalism. 

She quickly looks over her shoulder at Jughead. Her enemy, her rival, her old best friend and partner. How can one guy have so many titles? Her feelings for him are one big confused mangled mess, but in this moment she is glad that she is here with him. They are a damn good team.

“Betts,” Jughead’s voice calls her out of her thoughts. The familiarity of her old nickname warms her chest. “Can you open this?” He points towards the top drawer of the desk.

She stands in front of him and looks at the simple lock. “She wouldn’t keep undeniable proof in the top drawer of her desk, would she?” she wonders as she fiddles with her bobby pin. Quickly the drawer opens and the first thing they see is a folder. Betty grabs it and scans through the documents. “Oh my god,” she exclaims. She is looking at documents with all the evidence they could dream of. Lists of suppliers, and runners. Orders and even their security measures. It’s all their right in front of them.

Jughead looks over her shoulder and silently curses. “Fucking rich people. Think they are so untouchable.” He quickly gets his phone out and takes pictures. “Got it,” he says.

“Let’s get out of here.” 

She grabs his hand and tugs him out of the room, closing the door behind her. They start walking down the hall, but Betty quickly notices someone coming from the other way. A guy with red hair identical to Cheryl’s. It would look suspicious if they were just out in this hall for no reason, so Betty does the only thing she can think of in the moment. She pushes Jughead against the nearest wall and covers his mouth with hers. She feels Jughead’s gasp of surprise against her lips and he stills. 

For a moment she wonders if this was the wrong decision, if she could have done something else. Maybe Jughead will push her away, kissing someone as a ruse is not an acceptable excuse. But then Jughead kisses her back. His hand tangles in her hair and positions her head so that he can settle his mouth over hers more firmly. Betty instantly relaxes and her body melts into Jughead. Her hands cup his face while his arm tightens around her waist, pulling her to him. It’s so good. Betty forgets where they are or why they’re doing this. For a moment it’s just her and Jughead and their mouths moving over each other in the most pleasurable way possible.

A cough from behind them brings them back to the present. They turn around to see the guy standing there. His face is as red as his hair and he is pointedly not looking at them. They are in a compromised position with Betty’s hand now underneath Jughead’s shirt. When did that get there? They quickly untangle themselves and Betty smooths out her messy hair. Her entire body is burning. She is so turned on from only a simple make out. A quick glance at Jughead’s dark, glazed eyes tell her he is just as affected.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the guy mumbles.

“I’m sorry,” Betty says quickly. The breathlessness of her voice is not an act. “We just got a little distracted. We’ll go back to the party now.” She quickly grabs Jughead’s hand again and leads him away. Shivers rush over her skin, but she keeps moving. They need to get out of there. She glances over her shoulder to make sure the guy isn’t watching, before she dashes left, out the front door.

They basically crash through the door of their hotel room and Betty leans against the door to catch her breath. Jughead falls onto the bed and starts laughing. “We did it, Cooper. We fucking did it.”

His laughter is contagious and before knowing it, she joins him. There is a storm of emotions inside her body. Too many things have happened in the last hour, let alone the last two days and she doesn’t know what to feel. But for now she settles into the comfort of knowing they got what they came for. They can uncover the Blossom drug ring.

The laughter slowly dies down and Jughead lifts himself up on his elbows to look at her. His floppy hair falls over his dark eyes and just like that any levity has left the building. Betty can feel the tension between them. The tension that has been growing since the start of the trip. Hell, it has always been there between them. 

“We are a damn good team, aren’t we?” Jughead says while he slowly stands up and makes his way over to her. His confident swagger is almost intimidating, but the smile on his face is genuine and happy. 

Betty feels the corner of her own mouth twitch. “We are,” she agrees.

“I like working with you, Betty.” Jughead stops in front of her and leans one hand against the door, beside her head. Her body tingles in anticipation of what’s to come. Strangely she doesn’t feel like fleeing anymore. “Don’t you?” He tilts his head in a questioning way.

Betty nods. She doesn’t have the energy for lying. “You are the only one who can match my genius,” she says with a cocky smile.

Jughead chuckles and leans even closer. His breath fans over Betty’s lips and heat starts pooling low in her stomach. “And we have pretty great chemistry, don’t we?” His voice is low and smooth. It sends shivers down her spine. A sound from the back of her throat escapes her. Jughead’s eyes find hers and for a moment they just stare at each other. Time stands still. 

Then they crash together.

Betty’s arms fling around his neck pulling him closer, while Jughead’s land on her waist. They kiss passionately, messily with teeth and tongue. One of her hands disappears in his hair, tugging sharply and Jughead bites her lip in retaliation. The moan that escapes Betty is loud and the sound only makes the fire inside her grow. She wants this. She has wanted this for a long time. She has wanted him for a very long time and now she won’t let go again.

She jumps up and wraps her legs around him, her dress hitches up around her waist. Jughead’s reflexes are quick and he holds her up with one hand under her thigh. The other is palming her breast and he pins her against the door with his weight. His mouth leaves hers and he starts to trail kisses down her throat.

Betty is about to demand he take her to bed when a loud knock interrupts their moment. They both freeze against the door.

“I know you two are in there. Open this door,” a familiar voice demands.

“Shit,” Jughead curses.

Betty’s body goes from overheated to ice cold in a second and her stomach drops. Arousal gets replaced by anxiety. Jughead gently sets her down and takes a step back. His eyes reflecting her own panic.

“You open the door,” he says with a rough voice. “I have a situation down here.”

Betty’s eyes fly to the obvious tent in his jeans and if the situation was different, she would feel proud. Honestly, she can’t imagine she looks any better with her wild hair and flushed face, but she takes a deep breath and opens the door anyway.

She is greeted by an unamused Cheryl Blossom. 

“Did you two really think you can sneak around in my own house and I wouldn’t notice?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is the ultimate moment killer, but she might have come at a good moment. I know that I have left Jughead's motivations and feelings as a mystery, but we will find out more next chapter. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


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